Help Wanted: Love
by your royal highness
Summary: Derek hires Casey back at Smelly Nelly's, and Sally sees something that the two would never admit: Love. So now it's up to her to get them together. Dasey Dally Sam/Sally
1. You're Hired!

**So for some unknown reason, I'm going to write another LWD story!!! Yay!!!**

**I hope that no one else has done this idea…cause this is it!! Oh, and just to let you know, Sally and Casey have never officially met in this story.**

**SUMMARY:**

**Derek hires Casey back at Smelly Nelly's, and basically, it is Life with Derek...at Work. Casey sees and hears everything that goes on in Smelly Nelly's with Sally and Derek...and for some unknown reason, she gets jealous. And Sally sees something that the two step-sibs will never admit: love. So basically, she has to find someway to make the two admit their feelings.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD. I never will. Period.**

**OH!!! AND AND AND! SALLY DOESN'T TECHNICALLY KNOW THAT DERKE AND CASEY ARE STEP-SIBS!!! (So Derek Un-Done never happened)**

**ENJOY!!**

Casey McDonald stared down at the brown t-shirt and then up at her step brothers face. "Really? I get my job back?"

"Yeah." Derek shrugged and he put his hands in his pockets.  
"Aw, thank you, Derek! You're the sweetest step-brother I've ever had!!" She put her arms out to hug him, but he just smirked and cleared his throat.

"Yeah…well…I'm not really enjoying the fact that I'm gonna be working with you again."

"Oh, come on, Der. You have Sally there…you won't even know I'm there." She rolled her eyes when she said the name 'Sally'.

Derek smirked at her. "Jealous much?"

"What? I am _not_ jealous." She said, placing her hands on her hips. "You're just a disgusting pig. Now move, and let me take a shower."

"Fine." He rolled his eyes and casually left his place in front of the bathroom door.

He sat down at his computer and started looking at a new car to buy.

_Hmmm…Since Case is determined to drive 'The Prince' then I'll just buy myself a new car…they can't cost that much…_

"Yo big bro, whats goin down my sizzle??" His brother, Edwin said as Derek watched his brother walk into his room, trying to act cool.

Derek rolled his eyes at Ed's choice of clothes. He was wearing a big, baggy black shirt that said 'Let me see yo grill' written in gold letters, and jeans that were down to his ankles. He wore his baseball cap backwards, and he was wearing a couple of necklaces with big charms at the end. "Edwin." He said in an annoyed tone, his eyes closed. "Haven't I taught you anything about being cool?"

"Hey, I'm trying my ganster look. You like it?"

Derek smiled and then let it fall. "No." He turned back to his computer.

"Hey…uh…saw you…_talking_ to Casey. What was that all about?"

"I gave her her job back." He said, refusing to look at him.

"What?!?!"

Derek turned and looked at his brother. "What? I figured that it would be the nice thing to do."

"Nice??? Casey??" Edwin stood up. "WHO ARE YOU??"

"Ed. Relax. Like she said, I'm gonna be so caught up in looking at Sally that I won't even know she's there. And besides, that means that I won't have to do so much work….and that means more face time with Sally." He smirked at his brother.

"Ahh…I see how it works." Edwin patted him on the shoulder. "Nice plan, bro."

"Thanks. Now go." Edwin slumped his shoulders and then left the room.

"Hey, Derek." He heard a girl say, and he glanced over the top of his computer to see Casey walking past his room.

"Hey…" Derek said, and then he went to go and take a shower.

_The Next Day…_

"Case! Are you ready yet???"

"Hold ON!"

"I've been waiting for 20 minutes, Casey! Hurry up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" She moaned, and then she started down the stairs.

"Gosh, Case…takes you 20 minutes to put on jeans and a t-shirt?"

"I have to do makeup and hair…duh Derek."

They started out the door, "Casey, you look beautiful even without the makeup." He said without thinking, and they both stopped. Casey looked at him with wide eyes.

"What?"

"I said…you really need to put on some more…to hide that horrible skin of yours…" She pushed his hand away, which was trying to pinch her cheeks.

"Sure…" She said, and then got into the car. "Derek. You need to clean out this pig pen."

"Hey! You say one thing about this car, and I'm going to not only stop giving you rides, but I'm gonna fire you."

"I love your car." She said in a sarcastic tone, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Mmhmmm…"

"I must admit, Derek. I'm a little scared."  
"You're gonna do fine. I mean, what is there to be afraid of?"

"Nothing…right?"

"Of course." Derek said.

"You're actually being supportive! What's gotten into you, Mr. Venturi?"

"Shut up." He muttered under his breath as they drove into the parking lot.

"What's up, Sally?" Derek asked as he entered the restaurant and threw his coat on the coat rack.

"Hey, Derek." She said, glancing up from the cash register.

"Got a new waitress." Derek said, pointing to Casey.

Sally turned around and smiled at his step-sister. "Hi, I'm Sally."

"Casey." She smiled back at her. "So, you're the new waitress? Good. Cause all we have here is Mr. Flirt." Casey laughed.

"I know, right?" Derek rolled his eyes as he finished tying his apron. He grabbed a notebook off of the counter and started towards a table, first bumping his shoulder into Casey. She scoffed, rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms as she watched Derek walk towards a table that consisted of a little boy, a mom, and a dad.

She turned to Sally, who was smiling like a maniac, and she glared at her. Her smile faded, and she handed Casey a notebook. "Here. Go to table 4, no one has served them yet." She said, and Casey nodded, walking away while glaring at Derek on the way. He smirked at her and Sally shook her head as she looked down at the finance charts.

_This job just got a whole lot interesting…_

**So how was the first chapter? I know I sort of rushed it…but it's okay, right? Please review! And no flames!!!**

**-Alexandra**

**Excerpt from Chapter 2:**

"So…" Sally broke the awkward silence between them at their lunch break. "How long did you two date?"

Casey and Derek both choked on their food and stared at her.

"What?"


	2. First Day of Work

"Here's your bill. And…thanks." He gave the red-head a seductive smile, and she blushed as she looked down at the piece of paper he just gave her.

"He is _such_ a pig." Casey spat as she cleaned down the counter, Sally standing next to her, putting the freshly backed cupcakes in the display case.

"Yup." Sally responded, not even looking up at Casey.

"How does he get all of those girls to flock all over him like that?? It's _disgusting_."

"I know, isn't it?" Sally asked, finally standing up and grinning at Derek, who was walking towards them, flipping a coin in the air. He winked at her and Casey rolled her eyes and scoffed. Sally gave him a flirtatious wave, and he smirked at her. "But he's so…adorably cute." She snapped out of his trance and turned to Casey. "But don't you ever tell him that. I'm over him. And he's over me."

"Like I'm supposed to believe that." Her co-worker smiled and rolled her eyes at her stupidity.

"Slacker." Derek said, nudging Casey, who let out an exasperated sigh.

"What??" Casey asked in an annoyed tone. Sally turned away, trying to hide her growing smile.

"Table 4 needs to be cleaned."

"Derek. I'm a _waitress_. **Not** a bus girl."

"Are you questioning my authority?"

"No, I'm not! I'm just not a bus girl."

"Fine, then. You go and wait table eight. A nice old man for you, eh Case?"

She scoffed and snatched the notebook out of Derek's hands. She walked towards the table. "Hello there! Welcome to Smelly Nelly's! My name is Casey, and I'll be your server for today. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Yeah…Water." He didn't even look up at her.

"Are you ready to order food, or do you need a minute?"

"Burger…Medium. No onions."

"Perfect! Thanks!" She smiled and then walked away. Derek laughed as he watched the old man roll his eyes at Casey.

"Why'd he roll his eyes?" Sally asked, stepping closer to Derek. One more step, and she would be in his arms.

"Cause Case is a super keener."

Sally rolled her eyes. "Derek! Be nice to the new girl!"

"She's not new in my life."

_So they dated! Hmm…that explains the unresolved sexual tension between them._ Sally thought as she shoved another notebook at Derek. "Here. People are swarming in for lunch. Go and wait table six."

Casey happily came back after giving the notebook paper to the chef. "So how did I do?" She asked, squealing at Sally.

"Fine," She smiled at her. "Hey, lunch break's soon. Since you and Derek seem to have everything covered here, I'm thinking about going out to get us all something to eat. You want something?"

"Ask Derek." Casey rolled her eyes, causing Sally's smile to rise. "He's the king of food. I should know. He _always_ raids our fridge."

_Oh…so now they live together too? Interesting. I wonder why Derek's never mentioned her before…_ Sally thought as Derek came up and nudged Sally in the ribs, causing her to give out a girly squeal.

"So…what are you two ladies talking about?"

"Sally's going out to get us something to eat, Derek. What do you want?"

"Oh…Pizza! Yeah, Sally! Oh, and extra _everything_…especially pepperoni."

"Got it," She winked at Derek and then grabbed her jacket. "I should be back in a little bit." She started towards the door, but then quickly turned around. "You two are going to get along, right? You're not gonna wreck the place?"

"No way, Sally! I'm totally responsible."

"Yeah," Derek wrapped his arm around Casey's shoulder. "You can trust…_us_." She smiled and then nodded her head.

"Okay. Fine, I'll be back soon. See you later you two."

"Bye." Casey said, waving at her new co-worker.

"Later." Derek said, nonchalantly.

Business was slow while Sally was gone. Then…it sort of sped up after I gave the old man his food, and the bell rang, signaling that someone just walked into the restaurant. Casey turned her head and spotted Max. She gave out a small squeak in fear, and Derek immediately appeared next to her. "What's wrong?? What's going on??" he asked, and she backed up into him, wanting nothing but his arms around her. _Why am I acting this way?? Why do I want to be held by my step-brother?_

"Right… there." Casey squeaked as Derek wrapped one arm around her waist, his hand on her belly button. Derek looked at what she was pointing at, and his face turned bleach white.

"Shit." Casey heard him mumble under his breath. Max took his seat at a table in the back, and they both watched a blond sit down opposite of Max.

"Hold on just a minute…is that…"

"Kendra???" Derek asked, and then he turned Casey around so that she faced him. "Who wants to wait them?" Derek asked his step-sister as he watched Kendra take Max's hand in hers.

"I don't." Casey mumbled.

"Well neither do I. I mean…after kicking Max's ass…"

"I know. I know. But Derek…it's not like Sally's back. She can't wait them. One of us has to do it."

"I know, Case." He said, stroking her hair. Casey furrowed her eyebrows together, but let him continue to touch her. "You know why he broke up with you, right?"

Casey nodded her head. "Because I changed."

"No. Because of me."

"You?? What did you do, Derek?!?"

"Nothing! He broke up with you because he thought that you l-l-l-lo-lo-"

"Loved?" Casey asked, and he stopped stroking her hair and placed his hand on the small of her back.

"Yeah. He thought I…_that word_…You."

"He thought I loved you??"

"Yeah." Derek sighed, and then grabbed the notebook out of Casey's hands. "I'll go and wait them." He said, and then started towards the two's arch enemies. Casey pretended to wash a table, but she couldn't keep her eyes off of Derek. _He's being so nice to me! When Sally isn't here…he's nice._ Casey smiled as she watched Derek smirk and glare at the two before walking back towards Casey. He stopped at the table.

"They're dating."

"Well I could sort of tell that, Derek."

"Let me give this to Pablo."

"Okay." Casey said, and then set down the towel and leaned up against the counter, staring dreamily at Derek.

_He's so…god…he's such a cutie!! And he's so damn hot! And he's so nice…And…_ Casey was cut off in her daydream by a hand on her back.

"Case? You okay? I got the pizza." She turned to face Sally.

"Oh! Hey, Sally!"

"What were you staring at?" She asked, and Derek turned around and started walking back towards the two. "Oh." She gave a knowing smile, and Derek's face lit up in a huge grin when he saw the pizza.

"Sally! My…girl! You're the best, seriously. Pizza and you?? How can life get any better?" She gave him a fake smile.

"I don't know Derek…how can it?" She asked, pointing her head towards Casey.

"I dunno." Derek said, a huge bite of pizza in his mouth.

There was a long, awkward silence as Derek and Casey both munched on their pizza, glancing at each other every other minute, and then looking down at the table when they figured out that the other one was looking at them.

"So…" Sally broke the awkward silence between them at their lunch break. "How long did you two date?"

Casey and Derek both choked on their food and stared at her.

"What???" Derek asked, and Casey stared at Sally as if she was an alien.

"Excuse me??" Casey asked, looking offended.

"Aw, come on! It's obvious! You two both used to go out, and now you just can't get over each other…and there's so much unresolved sexually tension building up that you just can't get over it!" The two stared at her in disbelief. Knowing that they weren't going to say anything else, she playfully punched Derek in the arm. "Just go and lay her already!"


	3. Confession Time

Derek spit the food out of his mouth before turning to Sally. "What?? You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope." Sally said, glancing between the two. "Wait…" She pointed between the two. "You _have_ dated, right?"

"NO!!" Derek protested, and Casey threw her pizza down and grabbed a notebook, grabbing the food off of the counter that Pablo had just placed an order at. The two watched her walk over and set down the food at Max and Kendra's place, and Derek let his mouth drop open. "Okay, Sally. That's IT!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come 'ere." Derek said, grabbing Sally's arm and pulling her into a corner of the restaurant. "Casey and I are step-siblings."

Sally put her hand up to her mouth. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Why would I be kidding you?"

"I'm…I'm so sorry Derek! How long have you been step-siblings."

"Aw, I don't know…a year at best? Maybe two."

"Well stop staring at her, Derek…I mean, unless you really love her…_like that_. Oh, and then I said that you should just go and lay her!! Derek, I'm so sorry!!"

"It's okay. Just….don't _talk_ to Casey. She's really sensitive about this type of thing."

"Oh…" She raised an eyebrow. "So you know her well enough to know that she's sensitive about things?"

"Well…yeah…" Derek said, scratching his head. "Listen…here's my screenname. Get online tonight, and we'll talk." Derek said, scribbling down: LeafsHockeyEh28 on a sheet of paper and shoving it in Sally's hand. "All right?"

"All right. My screenname's blondechik24323"

"Interesting." Derek smirked, and then turned around, glancing at the clock. "Three hours left." He mumbled as he walked towards the cash register.

_Three hours later…_

Casey put up the last chair onto the table and Derek finished washing the dishes.

Sally let out an exasperated sigh and undid her apron, throwing it down on the table. "Well I'm heading home. You two get home safely." She smiled at them. "Bye, Derek." She said, walking over to him and giving him a shake on the shoulder. She walked over to Casey, who hadn't talked to anyone since lunch, and she stopped in front of her, smiling. Casey looked up at her and gave her the same, annoyed, blank expression. "Bye, Casey." Casey just looked down at the table, and Sally pulled her into a hug. "Sorry about lunch." She whispered, pulling away from her and smiling. "Bye, you two."

"Bye." They both said as she exited the restaurant.

"You ready?" Derek asked, and Casey undid her apron and put on a coat before turning towards Derek.

"Yeah." She sighed.

"Aw…you talked to me."

"I have to _live_ with you Derek….I must talk to you at some point."

"This is true…unfortunate to live with such an ugly alien like you…but true."

Casey let her half-hearted smile die. "Derek?"

"Yeah?" He asked as he locked the restaurant up.

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." She said as she turned on her heel and stormed towards the car.

"Whoa. Whoa. _Whoa_." Derek said, finally finding his voice and his steps. He grabbed onto Casey's arm and stopped her in her tracks.

"Let go of me." She demanded, thrusting her arm away from him.

"No. Not until I hear some answers." Casey crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Where did you learn language like that?"

"You." She said simply. "Now shut up and get in the car. I want to get home."

"As you wish." Derek said, glaring at her.

"Thank you." She fake smiled at him as they both got into the car. The rest of the car drive home was quiet. Perhaps too quiet for Derek to stand.

Derek parked the car in the garage and then locked the door so that Casey couldn't get out. "Derek! Unlock the door! Now!"

"No. We need to talk."

"No way! I'm not talking to you."

"Why?"

"Derek! Unlock the door!"

"Why?"

"Derek!"

"Answer my question."

"What?"

"Why aren't you talking to me?" He turned in his seat to face her.

Casey let her shoulders slump. "I…I don't know. I guess I was just…taken by surprise. Sorry." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Did…Did you just say you were sorry?"

"Yeah. Now unlock the door before I take it back."

Derek sighed and let in. The door unlocked, and Casey walked calmly out of the car and into the kitchen where George and Nora were sitting at the table, sipping mugs of coffee and reading a magazine article.

"Casey! How was your first day on the job?" Casey turned and fake smiled at them.

"Perfect. Just…perfect."

"How did you like Sally?"

"Oh, she's one _interesting _bird." Casey said, thinking back to her last comment about her and Derek. She shuddered at the thought. "I'm going to go and take a shower."

Derek quickly ran into the house, his cell phone up to his ear. "Okay, I'm getting online right now…hold on." He darted up the stairs. Casey scoffed and then followed were Derek had just ran.

Derek ran into his bedroom and plopped down on his computer chair and signed in on AIM. "Okay. I'm on. Bye."

"Bye." Sally said, hanging up the phone and sending Derek an IM.

**blondechik24323: **Hey

**LeafsHockeyEh28: **hey

**blondechik24323: **So…tell me about Casey.

**LeafsHockeyEh28:** what about her

**blondechik24323: **Everything.

**LeafsHockeyEh28: **i love to prank her

**blondechik24323: **Okay…well can you answer this very important question for me?

**LeafsHockeyEh28: **uh sure what is it

**blondechik24323: **Do you love her?

Derek sat, staring at the screen for a long time before replying.

**LeafsHockeyEh28: **love as in crush or as in sibling

**blondechik24323: **Crush, Derek!

Derek didn't know how long he sat there, staring at the screen. He processed the information in his head. He had known her a long time…and sometimes he wished that she deserved someone like him. Someone so much more better then any of her ex's.

Including Sam.

He didn't understand what exactly her felt when he pranked Casey or when he was around her, but he definitely felt _something._ Dare he call it love? Derek sighed and ran his fingers through his hands.

**blondechik24323: **Derek? You there?

**blondechik24323: **Derek?

**LeafsHockeyEh28: **yeah, im here

**blondechik24323: **Well do you love Casey?

He continued to sit there, staring at the words 'Crush' and 'Love'. Had he ever even thought about Casey as a crush or as a love? He could think of at least a dozen times that he's flirted with her…..probably more. He looked around and then got up and closed and locked the door before sitting back down on his computer.

**LeafsHockeyEh28: **Yes

**LeafsHockeyEh28 has signed off at 10:40 PM**


	4. Cheats and Crushes

"What's up, Sally?" Derek asked, casually waltzing into the restaurant. Her face lit up when she heard his voice, and she turned around to face him.

"Hey!" She smiled and then she watched Casey walk in the restaurant with a scowl on her face.

"Der-EK!" She screeched, stomping up and down and throwing her coat on the rack. Derek smirked, laughed, and then turned around to face her.

"What, klutzilla?"

"You know _what_! You coated the door handle with GLUE, Der!" She let out an angry 'Ugh' before stomping towards the bathroom, her hand dripping with a honey-like substance. Derek laughed, and then turned back around to Sally. She raised her eyebrow at him and gave him a look that said 'Derek, stop flirting'.

"What?" He asked, sticking his hands out and pointing to himself in a 'What did I do' manner.

Sally looked down and chuckled. "Nothing."

"Jerk!" They heard Casey power walk back towards the two, evil eyes focused on Derek's.

"Sally! There's…trouble in the kitchen!! Sally!" Pablo called, and Sally rolled her eyes as she started towards the entryway where Pablo stood.

"Derek!" Casey crossed her arms and scowled at him.

"Look…Case…I…" Derek started, but then stopped as he watched someone he'd rather not see walk into the restaurant. "Oh holy fuck."

"What?" Casey asked, spinning on her heel and staring at the man that just walked in and took a seat to the far right side of the restaurant. "Oh my god…" Casey gasped, and then turned back to Derek. "What do we do?"

"N-Nothing. He's just…Scott."

"He's not just Scott! He's the cheater!" Casey protested, and Derek noticed that she was so nervous that she was shaking.

"Case…" Derek said, walking towards her and putting his hands on each other her shoulders. "It's okay…" He started rubbing her upper arms. "Calm down…it's fine."

"Derek…after Scott…I had bad dreams for a week at least."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I'm gonna pummel him." Derek smirked and then started towards Scott.

"No! Derek! You can't!" Casey protested, reaching out to grab his wrist. Instead, she grabbed his hand, and they automatically entwined together.

"Derek I gotta…" Sally started as she rounded the corner, but then stopped when she saw their two hands, clasped together. "Oh…" She smirked at Derek, and he dropped Casey's hand as if it was a hot plate.

"Go and serve table 9." He commanded, handing her a menu and a notebook with a pen.

"Why? So you can have alone time with…"

"SALLY!" Derek shouted, causing half the restaurant to turn and stare at them. "Just go…"

_After Work…_

"So…how was work today?" Nora asked the two eldest step-sibs, poking at the casserole she made that she decided wasn't edible.

"Fine." Casey simple said.

"We saw Scott today." Derek spoke up, his mouth full of the casserole dish that he seemed to enjoy.

"Oh really?" George asked.

"Yeah. That scum that was cheatin' on Case? Yup. Him."

Casey had to smile at that comment; he was being sweet to her.

Edwin and Lizzie raised their eyebrows at each other and then look down at their food again, pretending to be un-interested in the current conversation.

"Smerek?"

"Yeah, Smarti?"

"Do you have a crush?"

"Uh…" Derek took a sip of his water and glanced at Casey over the rim of his glass. "Yeah."

"Who??? I wanna know! I wanna know! Oh pleassseee!! Can you tell me, Derek? Pleassseee???"

Derek chuckled, but didn't answer.

"I bet it's that Sally girl from work."

"It better not be." Casey scoffed.

Derek smirked and put down his fork, focusing all of his attention onto Casey. "And why not?"

"Because! Sally and I are getting along great, and we're going to become close friends, I can tell."

"And if I dated her that would be a problem because….?"

"Because! Then Sally and I wouldn't hang out together, and I really like her…she's a nice person! She knows what she's doing, and she's very responsible!"

Derek rolled his eyes and then smirked, looking down at his plate and picking at the casserole. _Is this thing even edible?_

"Oooo!! I know who Derek has a crush on!!"

"Who?" George asked Marti, interested in who he was going to say.

"Casey!!"


	5. We Had HOMEWORK?

Water spewed out of Derek's mouth and all over the table as he tried to regain his breath. He coughed a couple of times, and glanced up just in time to see Casey shifting uncomfortably in her seat and poking at her food in nervousness. Lizzie and Edwin both became instantly interested in the conversation, staring at Derek as they watched him cough. 

George just stared in shock at his son, and Nora just put on a fake smile.

When Derek finally stopped coughing, Nora broke the silence. "Well, Derek…is this true?"

"NO!" They both shouted at each other. Their faces both turned red and then they both stood up. "I'm going to my room." They both said, and then they glared at each other and ran up the stairs.

Once they were up the stairs, Nora gave a shake of her head and stared at her husband in an 'Oh God' tone.

LWDLWDLWDLWDLWD

"There's something up between Casey and Derek." Lizzie whispered as Edwin quietly shut the door to the game closet and sat down on top of the 'Candy Land' box.

"Yeah, I know! They acted all weird when Marti said that Casey was Derek's crush."

"Yeah, they acted as if…" Edwin looked up, and then, as if a light bulb went off in his head, he put a finger up and said, "As if they were trying to hide something!"

Lizzie gasped. "Hide that they were _dating_?"

"NO!" They both screamed at each other, and then they started to laugh.

"That's crazy talk." Edwin said, and then looked down. "Isn't it?"

"The only way to find out is to go straight to the source."

"Derek's not going to tell me!"

"No, I know he's not." A smirk crept onto Lizzie's face. "And Casey isn't going to tell me, either."

"So how are we going to figure out if they _are_ trying to hide something?" Edwin asked, and Lizzie's smirk got larger. "What are you thinkin?"

"I'm thinking that while Derek and Casey are off at work…we sneak into their room and find evidence."

"Evidence? What kind of evidence?"

"Anything! _Something_ that will prove to us that they're dating."

"Tomorrow. Right when they go to work." Edwin smiled.

"We'll call it Operation….Purple Fog!"

"Niceeee." Edwin said, and they did their secret handshake before disappearing into their rooms where they would retire for the night.

LWDLWDLWDLWDLWD

**LeafsHockeyEh28: **i have a big problem

**Blondechik24323:** What kind of problem, Derek? I mean, besides the fact that you're madly in love with your STEP-SISTER…which by the way…just looked it up, it isn't illegal! 

**LeafsHockeyEh28:** yeah, i know its not illegal i looked it up too…

**Blondechik24323:** awwwww 

**LeafsHockeyEh28:** shut up

**Blondechik24323:** So what's your problem?

**LeafsHockeyEh28:** so we were eating dinner, and marti (who i love except for right now) asked if i had a crush

**Blondechik24323: **I see where this is going…. ;)

**LeafsHockeyEh28:** so i said…yeah i have a crush then she asked who and i didnt say anything so she said i know who it is its casey!

**Blondechik24323:** :O Derek!

**LeafsHockeyEh28: **what

**Blondechik24323:** You missed an opportunity!

**LeafsHockeyEh28:** what kind of opportunity

**Blondechik24323:** To tell Casey how you really feel!

**LeafsHockeyEh28: **are you CRAZY sally? that would mean that my parents would know, and then theyd get mad mad MAD

**Blondechik24323:** I'm sorry Derek…so what are you going to do?

**LeafsHockeyEh28:** nothing im not gonna do anything

**Blondechik24323: **uhhhh why not?

**LeafsHockeyEh28:** because! ive liked case for like 2 years ever since she moved in and i can wait

**Blondechik24323: **2 YEARS DEREK? THAT IS CRAZY!

**LeafsHockeyEh28:** i know, but im crazy too  but in a good, cool, way

**Blondechik24323: **Oh, I gotta go, D. I'll talk to you tomorrow, k?

**LeafsHockeyEh28:** k later, sal

**Blondechik24323: **bye, _der_ 

_**Blondechik24323 has signed off at 10:56 PM**_

LWDLWDLWDLWDLWD

_Ugh! Stupid polynomials! Ugh! _Casey furiously scratched at her math homework that she had been trying to complete for about an hour now. _I don't even know! _"UGHHH!" Casey let out a frustrated, long, droning sigh and then shoved her papers off of her bed and threw her head down onto the mattress. 

"Hey." Casey looked up and quickly turned her head to look at who was standing in the doorway. It was Derek.

"Hey, Derek." Casey rolled her eyes at his name. He leaned up against the frame of her door and smirked. He looked down at the math homework she had chucked onto the ground, which was now in an array on the floor, and smirked. "What?" 

"That's the homework?"

"What?"

"This." Derek reached down and picked up Casey's notebook, pointing towards the polynomials that had been giving her brain a headache. 

"Yeah…why?"

Derek's eyes got huge and he glanced the clock. 11:02 PM. "Shit!"

"What? You didn't do it?"

Derek shook his head negatively. "I'm screwed, aren't I?"

"Yes…you are." Casey smirked. 

"Case…could you be a babe and let me borrow your homework?"

"Babe?" Casey stood up and started towards Derek. "Did you just call me 'babe'?"

She watched him gulp and then scratch his head. "Uh…" Casey found much enjoyment out of this. She smirked and then leaned back against her door. 

"Just take it."

"Seriously?"

"Are you seriously questioning me?" She crossed her arms. "Now go! Before I change my mind."

Derek smiled. "Thanks!" He said, and then started running towards his room, closing the door. 

Casey shook her head, and let a small smile form on her face as she started towards her dresser to change into her pajamas before falling into a deep sleep, a huge, happy smile plastered across her face.

LWDLWDLWDLWDLWD

The next morning, Casey awoke to her alarm clock sounding, and she groaned and opened her eyes. She immediately moved away from her bed, for there was a huge bouquet of roses on her bed, and next to it was her math homework. She searched through her favorite flowers; deep red roses, and finally found the note. _Thanks_ was printed on it. She opened it up and read what was written in a very sloppy, familiar handwriting.

_Thanks for looking out for me_

_-Derek_


	6. Why are you acting so strange, Venturi?

Casey practically pranced down the stairs and into the kitchen where Edwin, Lizzie, Marti, and Derek sat, gulping down cereal as if they've never eaten in their whole entire lives.

"Good morning everyone!" Casey smiled as she walked into the kitchen. Derek's head shot up from his bowl and smiled back at her.

"Hey, Case! You get my gift?"

"Yes." She let her smile grow bigger. "I-" She was cut off in mid-sentence by her sister.

"Gift? What gift?"

"Nothing." Derek and Casey both said quickly. They turned and looked at each other and Derek smirked and stared down at his cereal bowl. Casey drowned down a glass of soy milk and then sat down next to Derek.

They sat in silence for a while until they heard footsteps running up the steps.

"Ah, Good Morning kids!" Nora waved as she hurried around the place, straining things up and grabbing papers that were flying everywhere and the keys off of the counter.

"Where are you going?" Marti asked.

"I have to get to work early, the boss just called." Her hair looked like a frazzled mess. "Bye kids! Have a good day at school!" She cried as she ran out of the door.

"Well I'm going to school." Casey stood up and put her glass into the sink.

"Yeah, me too." Derek added, following Casey towards the back door.

"Bye!" She waved at the three youngest as she and Derek left the house.

They climbed into the car and Derek put on his aviator sunglasses.

"Derek…" Casey sighed.

"Hey. There is nothing wrong with my sunglasses."

"Yeah there is. Now take them off."

"Hey, I gave you roses! Don't you tell me what to do, got it?"

Casey blushed at the thought and Derek grinned. He liked making Casey feel uncomfortable. It was what he lived for. He _enjoyed_ it oh so very much.

"O-Okay. Just drive." Casey said, shaking her head and resting it on her elbow which was leaned up against the side of the car.

_At School…_

"Derek did _what_?" Her best friend asked, letting her jaw drop down to the ground.

"I've told you at least five times, Em…he gave me roses."

"Derek Venturi? Your step-brother, Derek Venturi?"

"Yes, Derek Venturi!"

"Mr. I-love-to-prank-you-but-all-of-a-sudden-I-have-a-change-of-heart Venturi??"

"Yes! _Derek Venturi_, Em!!"

"What about Derek Venturi?" Casey whirled around and saw Sam and Derek standing behind her with a football under Sam's arm.

"N-nothing."

"I told you Sam…" Derek smirked at his best friend. "She's always thinking about me."

"I am _not_!"

"Uh-huh." The bell rang and Derek smiled at Casey. "Come on, Case. Let's go to math." He pulled on her arm and walked down the hall with her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she shoved him away. "What?"

"Derek. You're really creeping me out."

"What?"

"Okay so one day you're making fun of me and gluing my hand to the handle of the car, and then the next day I find _roses_ in my bed from you because I decided to be a wee bit nice and let you copy my math homework?"

"Uh…" The two stopped outside of Mr. Gilmour's room and stood there, staring at each other.

"Derek…." Casey smiled. _I got him now. _"Tell me, boy."

"Since when do you call me 'boy'?" He asked, offended.

"Since when do you give me roses?"

"You gave her roses? Derek Venturi…tsk tsk tsk…" The two turned at the familiar voice and gasped.

"Sally?? What are you doing here?"

"Just transferred. Is that going to be a problem…_Venturi?_" She asked, turning her attention to Derek whose jaw was dropping to the floor.

"N-N-No problem at all…" Derek said as Casey and Sally walked into the classroom, leaving him in the middle of the hallway, his mouth dropping to the floor.

_This is not good…_


	7. Girl Stuff

"What did you talk about?" Casey whirled around and stared at Derek's very concerned face. She crossed her arms and smirked at him.

"Nothing you need to know about." She spun on her heel and started towards her next class, and she could feel him following her.

"Aw, come on Case! Why can't I know??"

"It's just…girl stuff."

"Girl stuff?" Derek asked, trying to keep up with her fast stride.

"Yeah. Girl stuff."

"What girl stuff?"

"What girls talk about. And besides, you should know…you've dated probably half the school population." She smirked at him over her shoulder and then left him in the middle of the hallway as she made her way to her next period classroom.

"Venturi! There you are!" Sally caught up with Derek. She gave a winning smile to him as they walked down the hallway. "I saw you talking with Casey."

"Yeah."

"So what did you flirt with her about now?"

"I didn't flirt with her about anything." He growled, shooting daggers at her. "I had a conversation with her."

"Oooo! A conversation! What about?"

"Well aren't you just the nosiest thing?"

"Hey, Venturi…tell me, k?" Derek stopped and turned to her. _Damn, she's stunning…her hair is perfect…I just want to touch it…no! You love Casey! You can't be falling for Sally! Ugh, Venturi! Get it together!! _

"Fine. I asked her what you two talked about."

"And what did she say?"

"She said that you talked about girl stuff. Now tell me what this 'girl stuff' is."

Sally moved her face to his ear. She let it linger there for a little bit, and then she whispered, "Guys."

She watched his face lit up brighter than New York City at New Year's Eve. "What about guys?"

"Not telling you."

"Sally!!" He pouted.

She grinned. She liked teasing him. It was practically her favorite activity. "Fine…we talked about who she liked. Or thinks she likes."

"Me??"

"Hey triple D! Wasssup??" Sam and Ralph came over and gave Derek multiple high-fives.

Sally raised an eyebrow at Sam as she smiled at him.

"Aye, yie, yie! What's up guys? Sam, Ralph, this is Sally. Waitress from the job."

"Sup?" Ralph asked, punching her in the arm.

She gave him a fake smile and said, "Nice to meet you too."

"Hey." Sam smiled back at her, and they stared at each for a while, just _staring_.

"Hey, Derek? Wanna go and play football with me and Sam?" Ralph asked.

"Yeah, sure! Come on, Sammy, let's go." Derek and Ralph started towards the steps, but then stopped when Derek realized that Sam wasn't following him. He spun around and stared at the two, just smiling at each other.

"I'm Sally."

"I'm Sam. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too." She let her smile grow as her heart did a little flip.

"Sammy! Let's go!" Derek shouted at his best friend.

Sam snapped out of his trance and looked up at Derek. "Sorry, I'll talk to you later, k?"

"Yeah, call me." Sally said, taking out a pen and scribbling her number and screenname on his arm.

Sam stared at it in shock. "No problem!"

Sally laughed and then started her search for Casey. _I have to find her and tell her about the amazing Sam! I still have to have a very thorough discussion of her love for Derek Venturi._ She walked away, and something dropped out of her pocket.

Sam, who turned back around to see if she was there, picked it up and curiously stared at it. He was debating on whether or not he should open it. It may be invading their personal privacy.

"Sammy! What's the holdup?" Sam spun around and hid the note behind his back.

"N-Nothing. I'm coming."

"Whatcha got behind your back?"

"Nothing." Sam said, stepping backwards.

"Come on, Sammy! Show me!"

"No!" Derek reached for it and Sam moved out of the way. He tried multiple times and then finally Derek got him in a lock. Sam surrendered the note, and Derek was about to open it when Sam stopped him.

"No, don't open it."

"Why not?"

"Cause it was a note that Sally dropped."

"Oo, then I really want to read it now." He opened it up and read it.

_I can't believe you're actually in this class!_

**I know, right? I got transferred at the last minute by my mom. My ex was going crazy and even tried to kill me. :O **Sally wrote. Derek could tell by the subject and the handwriting that it was written from Sally to Casey.

_I'm sorry! That's horrible! Yeah, I just got out of a horrible relationship with the quarterback of the football team._

**Ew, quarterbacks are the worst. They're so cocky, and they will morph your brain. **

_I know, but I managed to get out of it before my brain turned into the brain he wanted. Derek helped me see that Max was a jerk. _ Derek caught his breath in his throat. Now here it comes. Sally was gonna say something about him to her. Something. Anything. He read on.

**Derek? Oh really?  
**_Yeah, Derek. My step-brother, Derek. Mr. I'm gonna prank you and make your life miserable, and then all of a sudden I'm gonna give you roses for letting me borrow your math homework, Derek. _

**He gave you roses?**

_Mmhmm… bright red ones. My favorite._

**Aw, he knows your favorite flowers!**

_So? He probably hacked into my computer and figured it out. He's Derek for crying out loud! He's so annoying!_

**You hate him?** Derek felt that he couldn't read on. She may have said yeah. That would be bad. He decided that he had to read. He threw his eyes down to the paper and read on.

_Absolutely NOT! I mean, he annoys me all the time, but I know that somewhere in that crazy brain, he's a sweet, caring, gentle, loving man. _

_Man?? Casey called me a man?? And she called me loving! _Derek gave a huge whoop as he jumped into the air and practically bolted towards his next class, leaving Sam and Ralph standing there, perplexed.

_I LOVE YOU CASEY, MCDONALD!!_


	8. It's MY car too!

"Derek! Hurry _up!_" Casey screeched up the stairs. She sighed and angrily looked down at her watch. It read: 4:55. They only have five minutes to get to work, and it took them at least six to get there. She started pacing back and forth on the foot of the stairs, and she saw Edwin and Lizzie walking into the living room from the kitchen, drinking water, eating popcorn, and whispering something to each other. They stopped in mid-step when they saw Casey.

"What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I _should_, but _Derek_ won't hurry up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Calm down Peppy Von Happy Stock."

"Charming." Casey sarcastically spat at him. "Now can we go?"

"Let me check my makeup." He sarcastically said, and Casey let her mouth drop to the floor as she promptly smacked him in the arm.

"Fine then. I'm driving!" She yelled as she took off, keys in hand.

"HEY! HEY GET BACK HERE!" He shouted, running after her. She jumped into the car and fumbled with her seatbelt, finally buckling it in as Derek came jumping down the stairs and running smack into the car. "Get. Out. Of. There." He said through gritted teeth. Casey just ignored him and turned on the car. She smirked at him and then started backing out. Slowly at first, and then at full speed. "CASEY!" He shouted, chasing after her. "Get out of my car!" His arms were flailing as he tried to catch up with her. He got close to her, and went to 'catch' it just as Casey revved the car forward, causing Derek to fall flat on his face.

Casey let out a huge, joyous laugh. "It's my car too!" She said as she drove forward and then backed up. She drove forward again, and then took off down their driveway and into the street.

"HEY!" Derek shouted, running after the car. She started doing circles in the street. "Get out of the car!" He continued to yell.

"Then let me drive it to work!"

"No!"

"Fine then." She said, and then put the car in reverse and backed up.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? KILL ME?" Derek asked, as he jumped out of the way of getting run over by the car.

"Let me drive to work." She demanded.

"No!"

"You wanna keep doing this?" She asked, stopping across the street and yelling at him as he bent over, trying to catch his breath, his hands on his thighs.

"Case, doll, get over here."

She raised her eyebrow and turned the car around, driving back towards where Derek stood, trying to regain his lost breath. She rolled down the window and put the car into 'park'.

"Doll?" She asked, and Derek walked towards the car.

"Yeah…just get out." He breathed.

"No way! Just cause you call me 'Doll' doesn't mean I'm giving you the car!"

"Case! Please!"

"Why? Why should I? Give me one good reason why I should let you drive this car to work." Casey said, raising her head high, determined to get the car. She glanced down at the clock as Derek was trying to think. _5:10…great, we're going to be _really_ late now. Sally must be having a ball without us there…_ Casey thought.

"Well…uh…" He looked up at the sky, and then jumped through the window, landing on Casey's lap.

"DER-EK!" He smirked at her and then put one hand around her waist and then other he used to unbuckle her seatbelt. He picked her up and plopped her down in the passenger's seat. She huffed and crossed her arms as Derek buckled his seatbelt. She buckled her own and he turned to her, a big smirk on his face. His smirk fell, though, when he saw the genuine look of disappointment on her face. She looked deeply hurt.

"Look, Case…I'll let you drive next time, okay?"

She just turned further away from him and stared out the window.

"Case? Case? Oh, Casey?" He cooed. "Case, look at me. Look at me. Casey." He put his thumb and his index finger on her chin in an attempt to make her look at him. She fought him off at first, but then finally gave in.

"What?" She demanded.

He didn't say anything, and just gave her a little, sweet peck on the lips. "Come on," He said softly, "let's get to work."


	9. Hectic Work and Operation Purple Fog

"There you two are!" The two let their mouths drop to the floor as they watched Sally balance three trays full of food towards tables. People were yelling and holding up checks in the air. It was like she was walking through an angry mob. "I thought you all weren't coming. Hurry up! Can't you guys see I'm a little busy right now? We've got a full house and people waiting to eat, come on, come on! Grab some menus and go!"

Casey quickly put an apron on and grabbed a menu, walking towards a table full of teenagers.

"Hello! Welcome to Smelly Nelly's, sorry for the wait."

"No problem." One guy said, checking her out.

"O-Okay. What would you all like to drink?"

"What do you have?" One girl asked.

"Pepsi, Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Mr. Pibb, Orange Soda, Ginger Ale, Water, Orange Juice, Chocolate Milk, Milk, Apple Juice, and Grape Juice."

"Pepsi." One girl said.

"Coke."

"Water."

"Diet Coke."

"Sprite."

"Coke."

They said.

"Thanks! Now are you all ready to order, or do you still need a little time to check over the menu?"

"No, we're ready." The same guy said, who was checking her out.

"Case, you okay? You got it handled?" Casey turned around and saw Derek.

"Hey, Der. Yeah, I got it." She smiled.

"Yeah, she's got it handled buddy. The pretty girl can do it herself." Casey blushed.

"Hey!" Derek pointed a finger at him. "Don't."

"Why? She your _girlfriend_?"

"No." Casey fake smiled at him. "Derek?" She turned around. "Don't you have tables to serve?"

"Yeah, gotta go. Just wanted to check up on you."

Casey rolled her eyes and turned back around. "Sorry about him. So what would you like to order?"

"Cheeseburger, medium, onions, lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, and hot peppers." The guy said.

"All right, you?" She asked a girl.

"Same, except no hot peppers or pickle or onion."

"Got it."

"I'll have the chicken noodle soup, please."

"I'll have a slice of pepperoni pizza."

"Hamburger, medium, no cheese, tomato, onions, pickle, ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard."

"I'll have a Caesar salad."

"Thanks! Your food should be out shortly."

"Sure thing, babe." The guy drawled, and Casey rolled her eyes, walking to give her order to Pablo. Sally came up from behind her to give Pablo her table's order too.

"Hectic day, eh?"

"Yeah, I know! I've never seen the place quite so crowded!"

"Yeah, oh, by the way, why were you and Derek late?"

"Oh. Car."

"Car troubles?" She asked, and Casey struggled to keep up with her.

"No. We were fighting for the car."

"Casey!" She rolled her eyes.

"Sally! Order up!" Pablo said, and she walked over to grab to two big platters of food.

"Look, Sally?"

"Yeah?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Uh, Casey?" She laughed. "Isn't this a little bit of a bad time?"

"No, Sally. I really need to talk to you."

"About what?" She asked.

"Sally? Derek _kissed_ me." Sally stopped in her tracks and practically dropped the platters onto the ground.

"What?" She asked, and she looked at Derek who was taking orders for an elderly couple. She served the food to the people that ordered it and then grabbed Casey's arm. "Come on." She pulled her into the bathroom. "So what happened? How did he kiss you? What happened??"

"Sally!" She laughed. "Calm down! It was just a little peck."

"Well how did it happen?"

"Well I was waiting for Derek to come downstairs, cause he was taking forever, and then he finally came down, made fun of me, and then I took off with the keys to the car. I got into the car, he yelled at me, I drove out of the garage, and he ran to catch it, and then I drove out onto the street. I was doing circles, then Derek called me 'doll' and told me to come back and let him have the car. So I came back, but didn't give him the car. So he got mad and jumped through the window and sat in my lap. He unbuckled my seatbelt and picked me up and put me in the passenger seat. Then he I guess felt bad and kept telling me to look at him, but I wouldn't. Then he forced my head so that I looked at him, and then he just…kissed me."

Sally squealed. "That is _so_ romantic! Did you kiss him back?"

"I didn't have time!"

"Would you have if it was longer?"

Casey sighed and looked down at the ground. "I don't know."

"Aw, come on, Casey. Think. Would you?"

She looked back up at her. "Maybe, but I don't know!"

"Did you _enjoy_ the kiss?"

Casey looked around and then leaned in closer to Sally. Sally started getting interested once she saw that Casey didn't want anyone to know. "Of all the guys I've kissed and made-out with, that kiss that Derek gave me was probably the best out of all of them. So yeah, I enjoyed it."

Sally squealed even louder. "Ah! That is _so_ romantic! I can't get over it!"

"SALLY?? CASEY??" They heard Derek scream.

"Looks like Derek needs our help." Sally said, and Casey nodded. "Let's go."

They walked out of the bathroom, and there weren't as many people.

"Casey! Order up!" Pablo shouted, and Casey walked over to Pablo to get the food that the teenagers ordered.

Sally turned around to face Derek and shoved him up against the wall. "You kissed her?" She smacked him on the arm. "What were you thinking??"

"Wait, how do _you _know I kissed her?"

"Casey told me."

"She told you I kissed her?"

"Yeah. And she also told me something else." Sally said, excitement streaming in her words.

"What?"

"She said that she liked it…_a lot_." Sally said, her voice in a low, excited whisper. She turned around and walked towards another table.

"Really?"

"Yeah, Derek. Now leave. I gotta take this order." Derek scanned the restaurant for Casey, and he saw her struggling to give the people their food without tipping the entire platter. _This is your chance!_ He quickly walked over to her.

"Case? You need help?"

"No, I got it."

"Casey…you need help with that. Here." He lifted the heavy platter off of her shoulder and wondered how in the world a small frame like hers could pick up something this heavy.

"Derek! I said that I could handle it!"

"Oh well." Derek smirked, and Casey finished giving the plates of food to the teenagers.

"I could have handled it myself." Casey fumed, and Derek just smirked again, checking her out as she walked away.

_I could tap that…_His dirty mind thought as he went back to work.

**LWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWD LWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWD**

"Come _on_, Lizzie! We can do this! They aren't even home, they'll never know. Just keep your mouth shut about it."

"Yeah. Okay. There's nothing to worry about." She crept towards Casey's room. "Edwin! I can't do it!"

He rolled his eyes. "Come _on_ Lizzie. Don't you wanna know if your sister loves Derek?"

"Not really!"

"Yeah you do." He smirked.

"Stop it! You're acting just like Derek."

"Good."

"No. Not good!"

"Come on, I'll go with you, if it makes you feel any better."

"Okay, that makes me feel better."

"God, Liz. We're not walking into a fire ring!"

"I know, but if we get caught, we're dead!"

"We're not gonna get caught."

"How do you know?"

"Cause their work ends at 10:30…it's 8, Liz."

"O-Okay. Let's go." They walked into Casey's room and Edwin walked towards her bookcase, searching for something.

Lizzie gave him a curious stare. "Whatcha looking for?"

"Her diary."

"Why?"

"Lizzie? Don't you have a diary?"

"No…why?"

"Girls write down personal secrets in their diaries. Casey seems like the type of person who would have one." He continued to search. "Ah! Here we go!" He said, pulling out a green journal with yellow lettering that said 'Diary' on it. "Latest entry…latest entry…latest entry…" He mumbled, flipping through the pages. "Ah! Here we go!" He cleared his throat.

"Dear Diary, Sally kept ranting on today about how amazing my ex-boyfriend, Sam is. I wasn't really paying attention. I don't like Sam anymore. He was too…boring…and we fought way too much. I can't believe she's actually going to our school now! She and I have so much in common! We both think that quarterbacks of football teams are complete jerks. Oh well. He's over with. Derek helped me see. Speaking of Derek, Sally and I talked about him today. She was telling me how she thinks that we should _date_. Me and Derek? Date? He won't even let me hug him! I laughed, but she told me to just wait and see. She said that Derek had a huge heart, but I doubt it. However, she does hang out with him a lot after school, during school, and during work. Oh please don't let her date him! Well, she can't! She was talking about Sam! Yes! Okay, so I'm never going to admit this to anybody, but I'd _love_ if he asked me out. I guess you would call it a little school girl crush…" Lizzie gasped. "…but TWO YEARS ISN'T A SCHOOL GIRL CRUSH!" Edwin practically yelled, his eyes almost falling out of his sockets. "Anyways, I better be getting ready for work! I'm going to _drive_ that car today, and Derek isn't going to stop me! Later, Casey."

"CASEY IS IN LOVE WITH DEREK!" Edwin screamed, and Lizzie gasped again and sat down on the bed.

"Oh my god! Where's the binder? Get the binder!" Lizzie grabbed the diary out of Edwin's hands and skimmed over it.

"We need a copy of this. It's evidence!" Edwin said, running into the room with the little black binder.

"Let's scan it." Lizzie suggested, and Edwin put the binder down on Casey's bed, taking the diary back from Lizzie's hands.

"Operation Purple Fog is going out nicely!" They gave each other high-fives and then ran out of Casey's room, leaving the black binder on her bed.


	10. To Tell or Not to Tell

**I did a LOT of research for this chapter (especially the zodiac signs) and I think that I got them right (well at least the dates of their birthdays close to the LWD timeline, and compatible with the other) so tell me what you think about the zodiac signs (if the description matches Derek and Casey)...no flames please (if you don't like it, don't read it, don't review it!)...and ENJOY!**

"Oh my gosh, Casey look!" Sally eagerly tapped on her friend's arm as they sat, bored at an empty table. Derek was busy leaning up against the wall, singing, and playing the air guitar to a song that the two could faintly hear.

"What?" Casey asked, turning around in her seat to see what Sally was looking at. "Sam?"

"Yeah! Sam!" She got up and grabbed a menu.

"Uh…are you guys closed? Cause I'll leave." Sam said, and Sally shook her head no.

"No, no! It's fine. We're not closed anyways. Come on, I'll get you your order. Take a seat, any seat is fine." Casey got up and started walking towards the register when Sally stopped her. "Go on home early."

"What?"

"You heard me. Go home early."

"Why?" Sally gave her a knowing look, and Casey frowned. "Sam."

"Oh course! Oh." Her voice lowered. "And take _him_ with you." She said, lowering her eyes at Derek, who was currently giving Sam an elaborate high five.

"Fine. But I better get paid for the hours I missed."

"Deal. Just get out of here!"

"Derek!" Casey said, grabbing her coat. "Come on, let's go."

"My shift doesn't end for another 2 hours!"

"Sally's paying us, now let's go!"

"Seriously?" Derek asked Sally.

"Yeah, now _go_."

"Sweet. Later, Sally." He said as he grabbed his coat and followed Casey out of the restaurant.

"Can I _please_ drive the car, Derek?"

"Why?" he smirked at her.

"Because…well…I gave it to you this morning! Please Derek _please_."

He stopped and closed his eyes. "Fine." He said, trying to keep the smile off of his face as he watched hers light up as he handed her the keys.

She ran to the car and got in. Derek just laughed and then got into the passenger side.

** LWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWD**

"Come _on_ stupid scanner! Come _on_!" Edwin shouted, banging it with his fist.

"Edwin!" Lizzie scolded. "It isn't going to work if you keep banging on it! It's out of ink, you idiot."

"Oh. Well doesn't George keep some in the basement?"

"Maybe. Let's go and check." Lizzie said, and the two left Edwin's room and went down two flights of stairs towards the basement.

"I can't believe Sally let us get home early." Derek said, walking through the backdoor and letting Casey get past first.

"Yeah. You know why, though, right?"

"Why?"

"Because of Sam! She has a major crush on him! Can't you tell?"

"Uh…no." Derek simply said. "And I really don't want to talk to you about my love life or other people's love lives."

"Your love life?" Casey asked, following him up the stairs. "I never said one thing about _your_ love life." She smirked and Derek stopped in front of the door to his room.

"Yeah. And you better not." He warned, putting a finger in her face, causing a disgusted look to form. He then turned around and walked into his bedroom, slamming the door shut.

Casey sighed and went to walk into her bedroom when her eyes fell on a little black binder that wasn't there when she left. She looked to her left and then to her right, and then she hurried into her room and locked the door behind her. She picked up the binder and opened it up. Papers came out, and she picked them up off of the floor and placed them on the bed.

There were tabs in the binder, and what the names of them were really made her eyebrows raise higher; Derek, Casey, and _Dasey_.

_Dasey? Come on, Ed…Dasey? Can't you sleep Daisy correctly?_ She laughed at Ed's stupidity and then opened up the tab that said: Derek. There was a full biography of him, including his picture.

She decided to read it.

_Derek Venturi_

_Age: 16_

_Birthday: November 5__th__, 1991_

_Zodiac Sign: Scorpio_

_Most Compatible Zodiac Signs: Cancer, Taurus, Capricorn, Pisces_

_Favorite food: Pizza_

_Favorite Movie: Curse of Evil _

_Favorite Video Game: Babe Raider_

_Favorite Book: Doesn't read_

_Girls he's dated: Sandra, Kendra, Amy, Ellen (and more that I can't remember)_

_Girls he WANTS to date: Casey_

"Casey? Casey?" She asked. "Casey?? Like _me_…Casey?" She decided to shake it off and then turn to the next tab; Casey.

_Casey McDonald_

_Age: 16_

_Birthday: December 23, 1991_

_Zodiac Sign: Capricorn_

_Most compatible Zodiac Signs: Taurus, Virgo, Scorpio, Pisces_

_Favorite food: Veggie Burgers_

_Favorite Movie: The Notebook_

_Favorite Video Game: None_

_Favorite Book: Pride and Prejudice_

_Guys she's dated: Sam, Max, Noel_

_Guys she WANTS to date: Derek (seeing a pattern here?)_

_Zodiac Signs:_

_Scorpio and Capricorn:_

_This union means successful sexual mutual relationships. Scorpio is the more imaginative lover, but Capricorn's stamina is a delightful match. Scorpio's possessiveness spells security to Capricorn. These two work well as a team - Capricorn is highly organized and Scorpio has native shrewdness. The Scorpio is more inventive, while the Capricorn is more patient. Their success in bedroom opens some interesting opportunities. The representatives of both signs have strong will, but the Scorpio is inclined to dominate. The Capricorn must understand, that it happens because of the Scorpio's great love. The connection is usually passionate and marriages are successful._

Casey tried to calm down as she turned to the next tab; Dasey. Then she realized what it meant. It hit her. Dasey was her and Derek's name put together. But why? Edwin and Lizzie wanted them together? She decided not to think until after she read it, and she stared down at the papers. There must have been at least twenty pages in here.

There was a timeline, from the day that they met each other to the present. She started to read it.

It was nice deeds that they had done for one another including; _-Derek defends Casey after she gets teased for falling down the stairs._

_-Derek buys Casey a cell phone when she helps out his business while he has the Chicken Pox…blech!_

_-Casey joins D-rock to save Derek's butt from getting kicked in the Battle of the Bands._

_-Derek stays up all night and completes Casey's sociology project when nothing goes right._

-_Derek helps out Casey with Summer Camp. Thanks, Agent Marti for the information! _

_-Casey defends Derek from bully Ryan._

_-Casey starts to cry in front of Derek when trying to admit that she'll miss him while he's gone to Spain._

_-Derek decides not to go to Spain because 'he'll miss everyone' (but we know he'll just miss Casey)_

_-Derek accidentally rips Casey's dress for the Prom, and then goes and gets her a new one._

_-Casey throws Derek a sweet sixteen party._

_-Derek tries to re-pay her and throw her a sweet sixteen party where he rented out Smelly Nelly's, but she has to go get surgery at the hospital. Derek films a video of birthday wishes and delivers it to her in the hospital, sneaking in as a doctor. _

_-Casey teaches Derek to drive so that he'll pass his driving test._

_-Derek defends Casey when they finally admit that they SNUCK OUT TOGETHER!_

_-Derek gives Casey her job back at Smelly Nelly's for reasons unknown. _

Casey didn't even read on. She never even noticed how much they did for each other. She bit her lip and looked up, sighing. "Should I tell Derek about this binder?"

**Review please! Remember, no flames, and what did you think of the zodiac signs? Does it makes sense? Does it match? **

**-Alexandra**

**p.s. I thoroughly love this story, and enjoy writing it out of all of mine!! :D**


	11. Lake Walk

"Derek!" Casey said, quickly walking into his room and standing in front of his desk.

"Uh…what do you want?" Derek asked, glancing up at her and then back down at his computer. She fidgeted and turned the binder over in her hands, bringing it up to her chest.

She then realized that she felt uncomfortable showing Derek the binder. It _was_ about them, anyways. She glanced over her shoulder at the open door into the hallway and then went and shut it. "I found this." She said.

"What is it?" She grabbed a chair from the other side of his room and brought it up so that she was sitting next to him. He took the binders from her hands and opened it up to the first page. "Derek…Casey…" He ran his thumb over the tabs as he read them. Casey watched his thumb stop as he reached the last tab. His thumb began to shake, and Casey looked up at him. He glanced over at her and gave her a fake smile as he gulped and read the tab. "D-Dasey." She watched his face get red and he got up and ran out of the room. He eventually made it down the stairs (almost falling in the process). Casey looked down the path that Derek had just ran with her eyebrows furrowed together. She looked back down at the binder, and then back down the hallway. She grabbed the binder and ran out of his room, down the steps to where she heard the back door slam. She ran after him and he was starting the car. Hurriedly, she fumbled with the door.

He locked it, the look of fear still plastered on his face.

"Derek. Get out of the car."

"No."

"Where are you going, anyways?"

"Somewhere away from you." He said in a matter-of-face tone of voice.

"Derek. I really don't want to do this, but…" She sighed. "We need to talk."  
Derek gulped again, and then unlocked the door. "Come on. We'll go to a park and talk. I'm not risking anything to get loose around this household." He said, and Casey furrowed her eyebrows at him, but got into the car.

They didn't say anything until they made it to the park, where they picked out a nice little patch of grass by the lake.

"About that binder." Casey started, and Derek sighed and turned his head. "We're gonna have to talk about it once in a while. Let's start on you, okay?" She felt as if she was teaching a two year old how to read.

"Okay." Derek nodded, turning to look at the binder.

"Derek Venturi." She said. "Age…16." He nodded his head. "Birthday…November 5th, 1991." He nodded his head again, and Casey then realized he wasn't going to say anything until they got to a certain part of his biography. "Zodiac sign...Scorpio. Most compatible Zodiac Signs…"

_Capricorn._ Derek thought as he listened to Casey call out of signs.

"Cancer, Taurus, Capricorn…" He winced, but Casey didn't seem to notice. "...Pisces." He just nodded his head, knowing that it was just going to get worse.

"Favorite food…Pizza." He smiled at that. "Favorite Movie…Curse of Evil. Favorite Video Game…Babe Raider. Favorite book…doesn't read." Casey got a little laugh out of that one, and Derek smiled and looked down at the ground as the wind started picking up.

Casey was getting cold; she forgot her jacket while trying to get Derek to sit down and read the binder with her. "Girls he's dated: Sandra, Kendra, Amy, Ellen (and more that I can't remember.)"

_Here it comes, Venturi. Here comes the mention of Casey. _

"Girls he WANTS to date…" She paused, and he closed his eyes, turning away as she said her name. He let out a deep breath and stared down at the ground.

"Is…is that it?"

"Yeah. Now it's my biography. Do you want to read it, Derek?"

"Sure." He grumbled, grabbing the binder from her hands and turning to the next tab; Casey.

He cleared his throat before starting. "Casey McDonald. Age, 16. Birthday, December 23, 1991. Zodiac Sign…_Capricorn_." He looked over at her, and she didn't seem affected by it, she just stared at nothing. "Most compatible Zodiac signs, Taurus, Virgo, _Scorpio_, and Pisces. Favorite food, Veggie burgers." He made a gagging sound after the name of her favorite food was said. She turned and glared at him, smacking him in the arm. He dismissed it and continued to read. "Favorite Video Game, None. _Freak_."

"Hey!" She said, as a big gust of wind hit her, causing shivers to run up and down her arms. She rubbed them to keep warm, but it didn't work.

"Favorite Book, Pride and Prejudice."

"Oh god, yes. I _love_ that book. All the romance…" She let out a happy sigh, and Derek smirked at her.

"Guys she's dated, Sam, _Max_, Noel." He spat out the football captains name.

"Max was _not_ that bad."

"Then you must have been blind." He said, smirking again and continuing to read. He looked down at the page, and his smirk fell, his face turning white.

How could he have not seen this coming? He knew that he was going to be mentioned in Casey's biography, _she_ was mentioned in his. "Guys she WANTS to date..." She smiled at him.

"Yes, Derek. Who _do_ I want to date?"

"M-M-Me." He said, and she smirked. "Hey! You can't smirk! Only _I_ can smirk!"

She laughed. "Whatever, Venturi. Just continue reading."

"Zodiac Signs. Scorpio and…C-Capricorn."

"Are you having a little trouble reading?"

"N-No."

"Cause you're stuttering an awful lot."

"I only stutter when I'm n-nervous. I'm not n-nervous."

"Yeah." She said, unconvincingly. "What's there to be nervous about?" He felt a bead of sweat fall down the side of his face and land on his gray shirt.

"Nothing! I told you! Nothing! Now shut up."

Casey smiled and stared down at the ground, pretending to be interested in the grass. _Oh god, why didn't I just see that he cared? _

"This union means successful sexual…mutual relationships. Scorpio is the more imaginative lover, but Capricorn's stamina is a delightful match. Scorpio's possessiveness spells security to Capricorn. These two work well as a team - Capricorn is highly organized and Scorpio has native shrewdness." _This sounds just like me and Casey! Highly organized? Native shrewdness…whatever the hell that is. It probably means messy._ "The Scorpio is more inventive, while the Capricorn is more patient. Their success in….bedroom…opens some interesting opportunities." _Interesting? Of course it's interesting! It's step-sibs in the same bed._ "The representatives of both signs have strong will, but the Scorpio is inclined to dominate." _Hell yeah! Scorpio/Derek Venturi is number one, all the time. Remember. I win. I always win._ "The Capricorn must understand, that it happens because of the Scorpio's great…great…lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-_love_. The connection is usually… passionate and…."

"What?"

"And…marriages are successful." He gulped.

"You wanna read the Dasey section?" She asked, and he shook his head no, handing her the binder. He looked down at the ground, and she realized that she had had enough fun torturing him. "Derek." She said, putting the binder down. "Derek…" She sighed, scooting towards him and placing a hand on his back. "Look…I know."

"Know what?"

"About this whole 'Dasey' thing." She put her fingers up in quotations around 'Dasey'.

"Oh." He slumped his shoulders and stared down at the ground. "So do I."

"Obviously. You took off faster than if Mom ordered us an extra-large pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni just for you." He smiled.

She liked his smile.

His smirk wasn't very appealing, but she liked his _smile_. She smiled back. It was just a natural habit for her.

"Yeah…well…" She patted him on the back and stood up, holding the binder to her chest.

"Come on, let's go. I'm getting cold."

He looked up at her, and then looked back down at the ground. She groaned, rolled her eyes and then held out a hand to him.

"What?"

"Come on! Der-ek!" He grabbed her hand and stood up, but he tripped and almost fell into her. She caught him, his head resting on her shoulder and she pushed him back up, a huge smile plastered on her face. She started to laugh. "Who's the klutz now?"

"Hey!" Derek protested. _I'm not gonna let her call me a klutz!_ "No!"

"Klutz!" She smiled, enjoying this more.

"No!"

"Klutz!"

"_No!"_

"_Klutz!_" _Okay, I've had enough of this. Time for something I've wanted to do since Tuesday. _Casey thought.

"N_…_" He started, but got cut off by Casey's mouth covering his.

**Okay, so from now on I'm going to be using a beta for my story. Some feel it's too OOC. So beta!! :D Hopefully the next one will be better. Maybe I'll post it tomorrow! BETA READER!!**


	12. Valentine's Day Dance

"Don't forget! The Valentine's Day dance is coming up soon! Make sure to buy tickets being sold in the Café during lunch for just twenty dollars each! And what better way to ask someone to the dance then to give them a flower, each five dollars each! The Hockey Tournament will be played Friday of next week at 7:00 PM, come out and support the Bulldogs as they take on the Titans!" Sam, Derek, and one of their teammates, who was standing across the hallway leaning up against his locker, all put their fists up and 'barked'. "The Physics club will meet…" At that point, Derek tuned out the rest of the announcements.

"D! You ready for Friday?" Sam asked, giving him an elaborate high five.

"More then ever! I can't wait to completely own them!"

"Hat tricks on the way for both of us! Booyah!" Sam said, but he changed the subject quickly. "Hey, who you taken to the dance?"

Casey.

That was the first person that came to Derek Venturi's mind.

Ever since the 'Dasey' incident and their short kiss, they hadn't even glanced in one another's direction.

"Ah…I don't know." Derek admitted. "Who you taking?"

"Sally." Sam smiled. "We're going out, didn't she tell ya?"

"No. She didn't." he growled. _How could she not tell me?_

"She didn't? Didn't you go to work yesterday?"

"Shit!" Derek looked down at the ground in furry. "No I didn't!"

"You didn't? You left Sally _alone_ in the restaurant??" Sam asked, shutting his locker with a loud bang.

"Calm down, Sammy."

"What were you doing?"

_What was I doing? _Derek thought. It was a good question. He couldn't remember what he was doing at that…oh.

He was kissing Casey.

"I don't know." He lied.

"D."

"Drop it." He commanded, pointing a finger at him.

"Oh no. Here she comes."

"Who?"

"Sally."

"Why are you upset? She's _your_ girlfriend."

"Dude. Dude, D. You better run. She looks pissed." Derek felt a slap upside his head, and he lifted a hand to rub his sore spot.

"Look, Sally. I'm sorry, okay? I just got a little side-tracked."

"Yeah, well your little 'side track' just lost about ten customers cause I couldn't get the food out to them in time, and we had about the biggest crowd ever!"

"I told you I was sorry. What more do you want?"

He felt another slap upside the head, but that one, he recognized.

Casey.

"We skipped WORK?" Casey fumed. And Derek had to put his head down to smile. _She talked to me!_ "I have _never_ skipped anything!" She said, lifting up a finger at him. Derek scratched his head and turned away from her.

"Hey! _You_ made us miss work!" Derek shouted, looking up at her. _Damn. She's fine looking today._

"How? How? _You_ did cause _you_ ran away when I was trying to sit down and talk to _you_!"

"That's cause I didn't _want_ to talk about Dasey!" He protested, throwing his hands up in the air and then shutting his mouth quickly.

"Dasey? What the hell is a 'Dasey'?" Sam asked.

"Nothing." The two said quickly, staring at each other and then at the two. Judging by Sally's look, she understood.

There was an awkward silence between the four, but Casey broke it by slapping Derek again. "We. Skipped. Work. That is unacceptable!"

"Okay. Okay. Chillz. It won't happen again."

Casey fumed again and then grabbed Sally's arm. "Come on, let's go." She glared at him, and Derek sighed.

They started to walk away, but Derek called after her.

"Hey! Case!"

"What?" She fumed, spinning around.

"It's funny we missed work yesterday. Cause I was gonna let you drive." He smirked, and she growled and spun on her heel, continuing to walk down the hallway.

Once she was gone, Derek turned around and kicked the locker multiple times, causing Sam to back away.

"Uh, D? You k?"

"Yeah. Never better. Let's go to class." He spat, taking off, Sam lagging behind him, just incase he decided to kick something else.

**LWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWD LWDLWDLWDLWD LWDLWDLWDLWD LWDLWDLWDLWD**

"So. Who are you going with to the Valentine's Day dance?" Sally eagerly asked Casey as they sat down in Study Hall.

"Um, I don't know yet. There's just so many people to choose from."

"I know!" Sally said.

"Who are you going with?"

"Sam! My new boyfriend!"

"Aw, congrats!"

"Thanks."

"When did you get together?"

"Yesterday. Right before work….which you and Derek didn't show up for. By the way, where were you two?" She asked.

"We were actually…at the park." Casey whispered, her face turning red.

"At the park? Aw, how romantic! What happened?"

"Nothing really. We just…_talked_." She said, nervously.

"About what?"

"About us."

"What about you guys?"

"Well…" Casey started, but was cut off by a very familiar voice.

"Hey, Casey! Haven't seen you in a while, mind if I sit here?"

"Noel!" She exclaimed, smiling. "Sure, have a seat. Noel, this is Sally. Sally, Noel." She introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"You too."

"So, how do you know Casey?"

"We were the main leads in the musical together."

"Yes, Noel's wonderful." Casey smiled, and Noel just looked down. "Are you okay? You look a little tense there, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing much. Just thinking."

"About what?" Casey asked, completely forgetting that Sally was sitting next to her.

"About who I'm going to take to the dance."

"Aww! Noel! Tell me! Who do you want to take!"

"Aw, yeah, Noel!" Sally smiled, and Noel gave a small smile back.

"Well I was sort of wondering if you wanted to go with me, Casey." Noel sputtered, and Casey smiled sweetly at him.

"Aw, Noel! I'd _love_ to go with you!" She exclaimed, holding her arms out to hug him. Sally let her jaw drop to the ground. _This is not good…_ She jumped up and quickly walked to Mrs. Parkerson's desk.

"Mrs. Parkerson?"

"Yes?"

"I need to deliver this term paper to Mr. Jones. Can I go deliver it really quickly?"

"Certainly, Sally." She said, writing her a pass.

"Thank you!" She hurried out the door and down the hall to where his classroom was. She peered through the little window and looked around the room for Derek. She recognized Sam, and he stared strangely at her. She gave him a flirtatious wave and pointed her finger at Derek, who was sitting in the back of the classroom, almost asleep. Sam mouthed, 'what?'

'Derek.' She mouthed as she continued to point at him.

'What?' He mouthed again, and she rolled her eyes, turning over her psychology homework to the blank sheet of paper. She looked around and spotted a green pen on the ground. She hurriedly wrote 'GET DEREK' in big, bold letters on it and then put it up to the window. Sam, thankfully, could read better then he could see, and turned around and chucked a piece of paper at him. He lifted his head up off of his desk and looked around, his mouth half-open. Sam pointed towards Sally, who was still standing on her tip-toes to look through the window and he squinted his eyes and cocked his head to one side like a puppy dog when he hears a strange sound. She motioned for him to come outside, and he stood up and started towards the door when she heard the teacher stop him.

"Where are you going, Mr. Venturi?" He asked, with an annoyed, nasally tone of voice.

"I really need to go to the bathroom, can I go?"

He rolled his eyes. "I suppose so. You have two minutes. Hurry up." He stepped outside and turned to Sally.

"What?"

She pulled him out of the way, and over to the side. "Derek, we've got a problem."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Noel just asked Casey to the Valentine's Day dance, and…she said yes."

Derek's confused look fell, his shoulder's slumped, and Sally could practically see his heart break in his eyes. "W-What?"


	13. Detour?

**I feel like writing today…so here you go! Enjoy! (Oh, and sorry that it's short!)**

Casey furiously scribbled in pink, red, and white colored pencils on a sheet of paper. It was almost quitting time, and the restaurant was completely empty except for the three employees (and Pablo, but he didn't count). Sally was sitting at a table rearranging the sugar and sweet n lows, Casey was drawing something in her notebook, and Derek was sitting in the booth in the back of the restaurant, his head leaned up against the wall, his mind in deep contemplation.

"Whatcha drawing?" Sally asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh! It's what I'm going to be wearing to the Valentine's day dance! Or what I _hope_ I'll be wearing! Isn't it pretty?" Casey asked as Sally walked towards her and leaned over the other side of the counter to look at it.

"I love it! It's gorgeous! It will look even better on you!" She said, picking it up and staring at it. She turned around. "Hey, Derek. You wanna see Casey's dress?" He just groaned and turned the other way.

Casey furrowed her eyebrows together. "What's up with him?" She mock-gasped. "Did someone actually reject Derek Venturi?"

"Er…" Sally started. "Kinda."

"Really?" Casey's face lit up. "Who?"

"I'd rather not say." Sally said, looking between the two. They could both here Derek get up and walk towards them.

"Yeah, and you better not say."

"Aw, why not, Derek? I wanna know!" Casey pleaded, and Derek wished that he could get her to plead like that in his bed. He shoved the dirty thoughts away and stared at her.

"No."

"What's gotten into him? So what? He won't have a date to the Valentine's day dance. Oh well. He could probably just ask one of his 'one date' girls and he'd be completely fine with it."

Derek turned on her and erupted. "No! No I wouldn't! The one girl that I was actually in love with didn't want to go with me! The one girl that I was actually in love with went with someone else before she even probably thought of me! One of my 'one date' girls would not replace her! No one would EVER replace her!" He fumed, and Casey leaned back in amazement.

"You actually loved someone?"

He sighed. "Yes. And she wouldn't love me back."

"Never thought I'd see the day where Derek Venturi would find a girl that didn't love him back. Wow."

"Come on. I wanna go home." He said, and Casey obliged, grabbing her notebook and jacket, hugging Sally goodbye.

The car ride was completely silent.

They didn't say anything.  
The only sound that could be heard as they went down the road was the sound of the cold wind hitting the car doors.

Derek turned right down a different, off-route course, and Derek looked down the road they were supposed to go down. "Uh, Derek? This isn't the right way. Our house is down that road." She pointed to the one they missed.

"This is a short cut." He spat as they drove down the dirt road. The car was bumping up and down, and Casey was starting to feel a little sick. The only lights were the headlights from the car, and all of a sudden, Casey started to feel very scared.

"Derek, I don't like this."

"You don't like anything."

She decided to keep her mouth shut and let him drive. That was, until the car just shut off. The headlights turned off, and everything became pitch black. She squeaked in fear for they were in the middle of a forest. He turned the key over and over again, but the same, dying sound came back. He pressed the button that turned on the light, but that didn't work. Casey had managed not to say anything to Derek while he fiddled with his car, turning the key…again. There was a rustling outside in one of the bushes on Casey's side of the car. She squeaked again, and brought her knees up to her chest. There was a growl, and Casey unbuckled her seat belt, glancing at Derek. All of a sudden, a huge brown bear was attacking the car, clawing at it. Casey screamed and jumped into Derek's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and turning away. Derek wrapped one arm around her shaking body. _What am I supposed to do? This thing is scaring the crap out of Casey! _He furiously looked around for something that may be useful to him like a lighter or something, but unfortunately (only for this moment), he didn't smoke, and neither did any of his friends. He knew that Casey would kill him if he did smoke. Finally, through the rough shaking of the car, he saw his bait.

The tuna fish sandwich.

He grabbed the old, half-eaten sandwich and chucked it out of the sunroof. The bear clobbered off into the darkness, and Derek quickly closed it, just in case he decided to come back and scare the living hell out of his step-sister again. As if to remind him that she was still there, Casey nuzzled her nose into Derek's neck, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her shaking body.

They sat there like that for a while, just listening to each other's breathing, and Derek whispering 'It'll be okay', 'Calm down' , and 'breath in and out' into Casey's ear. Then, there was silence.

Complete silence.

Casey was almost about to fall asleep, she was so comfortable, but Derek's voice rose her out of her small slumber.

"We need to get a tow truck or something. Do you have your cell?"

Casey nodded and pulled it out, the blue light reflecting on their faces as they started at the screen that made them both nervously gulp.

'NO SIGNAL'


	14. There's a Problem with You and Noel

Casey sat in the back seat of the car, and Derek still sat in the driver's seat, just staring out of the window into the black nothingness. Even though Derek's physical form was in the car in the middle of nowhere, his thoughts were somewhere else. He was trying to figure out who he was going to take to the dance that would make Casey jealous enough to dump Noel for him.

"I'm cold." Casey said, dragging Derek out of his thoughts. He turned and stared at the girl, who was curled up in a ball in the left corner of the car, her knees brought to her chest. Her head was rested against the window, and she stared at him with black eyes.

"Then get warm," was Derek's response.

"Get warm? Get warm? How am I supposed to 'get warm'?"  
Derek shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. You're the super keener."

"Der-ek!" She stomped her feet on the car, and Derek winced. _She's hurting the prince!_ She didn't say anything for a while, and neither did he. Then, she spoke up again. "You know, this is all your fault! If we actually went the right way, then we'd be at least stuck on the highway where someone would have helped us _or_ we could have had signal to call Mom and George, but _no_ you have to be 'Mr. Cool' and take the 'road less traveled'!"

"Huh?" Derek knitted his eyebrows together in confusion.

She rolled her eyes. "Robert Frost you idiot."

"It's not snowing."

"You're such a…a…_jerk_!"

"Look, Case…" He rubbed his eyes with his right hand. "I don't want to fight. At least not right here."

"Fine." She crossed her arms. "Amuse me."

"Amuse you?"

"Yes. Amuse me."

"I'm not your slave." He laughed. "If anyone should be a slave, it would be _you_ for _me_." _Yeah, a sex slave, Venturi._ The voice in the back of his mind said, and he immediately took it back.

"Well at least turn on the heat." She demanded.

"If you haven't noticed, _Case_, the whole car doesn't work. It's dead. Completely _dead_."

"So, the heater doesn't work?"

"No!" He shouted in frustration, and then he smirked at her. "Who's the idiot now?"

"Shut up!" Casey spat, and she looked around on the ground for a light or a blanket. "Of all of the crap that you have in this car, you don't have even a _little _flashlight or _anything_ that makes light?"

"Nope."

"Do you have like a blanket?"

"Nope." He said again.  
"Jacket? Sweatshirt? Anything?" He sighed and looked down on the ground. He unbuckled his seatbelt and crawled into the back of the car with Casey and searched the ground. His hands found a cloth material, and he picked up a black sweatshirt that said, 'TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS JUNIOR TRAVEL HOCKEY LEAGUE' in big, white letters on the front, and on the back it said, 'VENTURI, 24'. He chucked it at her, and she smiled and slipped it over her head. "Thanks, Der."

He leaned up against the other door and bent his right leg on the seat while his other was on the floor. He gazed at the girl. She was absolutely beautiful. Especially since she was wearing his clothes. The moonlight captured her every feature, and he smiled in delight.

"What?" She asked, noticing his enticing stare.

"Nothing."

"Derek." She sighed. "Something's up. I noticed. You've been acting strange since…since…since after first period, and it's really starting to…_bug _me." He could tell that she couldn't find the right word to put there instead of 'bug'. He sighed and looked out the front window. She scooted towards him and put a hand on his leg, shocking him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You're acting like a girl."

"What?" he asked.

"You say that you're okay when you're really not. That's an old girl trick if you don't want people to know what you're really thinking."

Derek sighed. "Come 'ere." He patted the part of the seat next to him, and she scooted over and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Her thigh touched his (she swore she could feel an electric current going up her leg), and she stared at him.

"Okay, you can talk now."

"It's the dance thing."

"You don't have a date? _That's_ what's bothering you?"

"I could get a date simple, I mean, I'm Derek Venturi." Casey rolled her eyes.

"You're _so_ egotistical."

"Will ya let me finish, MacDonald?"

"It's _Mc_Donald."  
"MacDonald sounds better. Now will ya let me finish?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so it's this whole 'you and Noel' thing that's bugging me."

"You're jealous." Casey blurted out, and she watched him open and close his mouth as if to say something.  
"I…I'm…I am _not_ jealous! Why would I be jealous of _you_?"

"It was that 'Dasey' thing, wasn't it?"

"Maybe." Derek surrendered.

"Did you finish reading it?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "I did, and I must say that Edwin and Lizzie are going to get a hell of a beating when we get home."

Casey laughed and wrapped her arms around Derek's torso, resting her head against his chest. She sighed. "I'm tired. I wanna go home."

"Me too, Case, me too. Tomorrow I'll try to find signal and call Nora and George."

"Thanks, Der." He carefully ran his fingers through her hair as she closed her eyes. "So you're really bothered about this 'Noel and Me' thing?"

"Yeah, Case."

"Why?" She yawned, cuddling more into Derek, who tightened his grip on her. _This is your chance, Venturi. Tell her how you feel! Tell her you love her. Tell her! Tell her! _

After a couple of minutes of contemplating silence, Derek brought up enough courage and said, "Because I…I love you." He breathed out the big gust of air he breathed in before, and stared down at her, waiting for her reaction, but it was too late; she was already asleep.


	15. Nightmare

Casey let out an exasperated gasp as she quickly sat up. There were cold beads of sweat falling down her face, and she started gasping for air.

Derek quickly sat up too, his eyes still sleepy. "Casey? What's wrong?"

"I don't…I had…I…" She turned to him and then shoved her head into his chest, digging her fingernails into his torso as she wrapped her arms around his body.

Derek, still very confused, just sat there and wrapped one hand around her shoulders, rubbing it slightly. "Nightmare?" He asked, and he felt her head go up and down as a 'yes' on his stomach. "You wanna talk about it?" He whispered, and Casey nodded her head, sitting up.

"Fine." She said, "But, Derek?"

"What?" He practically groaned. _Sometimes this girl is just so irritating…_

"Just…_hold me_." She whispered.

"What?" He asked, shocked by her words.

She didn't repeat, however, and continued. "And never let go." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her towards him where she curled up into a ball and rested her head on Derek's shoulder.

"There was a fight." She started. "And I was there, and Max was there, and he was yelling at me, telling me how horrible I was and how I was a slut, and then Noel came," She sniffled before continuing. "And he started to yell at me too, and told me how he never liked me, and he just used me. And then, then, you came, and you _killed_ them."

"Killed them?" Derek asked in shock. He could just picture him slugging Max across the face, but killing him? Oh, that would be heaven on this earth to him.

"Yes." She whipped the tears that were threatening to fall away, and Derek thanked the lord she didn't cry. "I can't go to the dance."

"Why not?" Derek asked, and she shook her head, pulling out of his embrace. She instantly missed it, but she turned her back to him and stared out the window.

"Because now whenever I see Noel, I'm gonna be thinking about you killing him. I can't go with him." Derek gave a huge smile, and she stared down the ground, pulling at the long sleeves of his sweatshirt.

"You're such the drama queen."

She glared at him, and he just smirked as she looked down at the ground. "I'm tired." She yawned. "Let's go to bed."

That one sentence made Derek's dirty mind go to work. He could just picture it now, him and Casey in the same bed together, or the back of the car together, same difference.

He, however, didn't say anything, and just leaned back against the door, scooting over and giving her room. She continued to sit there though, and he furrowed his eyebrows together as he stared at her.

"Uh, Case? Can you hurry up? I'm freaking tired here, woman."

"Yeah." She moved and cuddled next to him, resting her head on his chest. "You smell good." She said.

"Thanks?"

She let out a small laugh and then closed her eyes, sighing.

After about twenty minutes, Casey was sound asleep, whereas Derek wasn't. He couldn't. That stupid dream of Casey's was running through his head. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through the hair that was draped over his chest, and stared at the black darkness outside of the window. He wanted something to do that wouldn't disturb Casey. He scanned his eyes over the ground, and they fell on a purple stripped notebook that was lying on the ground. He picked it up and noticed that in fancy silver lettering was, 'Casey'. He opened it up and almost dropped it, the picture was so beautiful.

It was Casey's valentine's day dress.

It was a read beaded dress that had v-neck straps in the front. It hung down to her feet, and Derek practically gasped.

She would look absolutely beautiful in it. He was jealous of Noel, but he didn't want to be. He shouldn't be, he couldn't be.

Casey was breaking it with Noel and to be quite honest, he didn't care.

_I need to sleep…_ Derek hurriedly thought, and he put the notebook down onto the ground, ever so quietly, as not to wake Casey. He pictured her in the dress again, and smiled.

That image floating inside his head, he fell asleep.

_The Next Morning…_

Derek Venturi woke up to an unusually heavy object on his body. He opened his eyes and stared, wide-eyed at Casey McDonald, who was laying completely on top of him, the top of her head resting on the nape of his neck. He smiled at wrapped his arms around her so that they were resting on her hips. He had pictured this moment in his wildest dreams, except, in his wildest dreams, they were both not wearing any clothes. He let his hands search her body, and his hands fell on the cell phone in her back pocket. He slowly pulled it out and realized that there was in fact signal. He smirked and went to dial the home phone number when he stopped and pressed end.

He never wanted this moment to end in his life.

Ever.

Derek Venturi didn't even fell like himself, falling head over heels for his _step-sister._ He sighed and realized who he wanted to call.

Sally.

He quickly dialed the number and it rang a couple of times before a tired sounding Sally answered.

"Hello?" She yawned.

"Hey, Sally! It's Derek."

"Hey." She said. "How are you?"

"A little uncomfortable, but not at the same time."

"Huh?"

"I'm lying in my car."

"Why? What in the world?"

"Sally. _Casey's_ lying on top of me. Her body is completely on top of mine."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying! We've been stuck in this car for the past 12 hours!"

"And dare I ask why?"

"Because, I was taking a shortcut down this dirt road, and then Casey was all, 'No, blah, you're going in the wrong direction, blah.' But I didn't listen to her, and then the car broke down, and now we're on some random dirt road at…" He glanced at the clock. "8:30 in the morning."

"Oh my god! Derek! You need to call a tow truck!"

"I can't, I mean, I can, but I don't want to."

"Casey love sick?"

"Yeah." He mumbled. "I mean, no."

"Sure, Venturi. That's why you'd wanna be stuck for a long time with Casey hugging onto you in the middle of nowhere."

"Well, I am pretty hungry."

"What do you want? Wait, where are you?"

"I'm at the-" He was cut off by a beep from the cell phone, and he brought it away from his ear. 'NO SIGNAL' "Shit, not again." Derek groaned, mentally hitting himself for not telling Sally where he was.


	16. Help is on the Way!

"Lizzie, Edwin, Marti? Have any of you seen Derek or Casey?" Nora hurriedly asked as she ambled into the living room, her hair in a frazzled mess, looking very distraught and very tired.

"Naw." They all said, turning back to their television show.

They all knew what was going on between the two step-siblings, especially Lizzie and Edwin.

They were obviously admitting their feelings for one another with hot sex in the back of Derek's car.

"Don't you guys even _care_ that your step-siblings are missing?"

"Naw." They repeated.

Nora groaned in fury and threw her papers up the air, letting them fall to the ground as she swept the extra hair out of her face. She stared at the kids for a while more, who didn't seem to care, and then frowned.

"Where's the phone?" She asked, anger dripping from her words, "I need to make a call."

**LWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWD**

"Morning, sleepy head." Derek smiled at her as she awoke, yawning and rubbing her hands with the sleeves of the sweatshirt that fell over her fists and smiled back. She sat up a little, whipped the extra hair out of her face and smiled again at him before lying back onto his chest.

She started carefully scratching his chest with her fingernails ever so gently as she said, "You sleep well last night?"

"Yup. Just like a baby." He said, "You?"

"This feels nice." She said, completely ignoring his question.

"Yes, it does…" He agreed, and she turned her head to look at him only to realize that his face was less than a foot away from hers. She slowly moved towards him, and, realizing what she was doing, he started moving towards hers. They were less than half a foot away when a loud, annoying ring made Casey jump, causing Derek to silently curse at himself for not kissing her sooner.

"Hello?" Casey asked, answering her phone.

"CASEY MCDONALD!" Nora screamed, causing Casey to pull the phone away from her ear and wince in pain; even Derek winced. "WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE IS YOUR STEP-BROTHER?"

"Mom, calm down. Please. Derek was taking me home from work the other way, and, like the idiot he is," She sat up and scooted to the other side of the car, causing Derek to become greatly annoyed. "And he took a detour. I told him _not_ to, but he didn't listen. He was mad about something so he didn't wanna stop. So then the car broke down, and we've been stuck on this ditch road, and I'm cold, and I'm hungry, and I need to…relieve myself."

"Why didn't you call us earlier? We've been worried sick about you two! You're getting along though, right?"

"Yes, Mom, we're getting along fine. Now can you just come and get us?"

"Yeah, but where are you, sweetie?"

"We're…well…we were going to turn onto 401 off of Birch Road when Derek turned right instead of left."

"Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can. But next time something like this happens, call us, all right?"

"All right. Thanks, Mom! Bye!"

"Bye." She responded, closing the phone and staring at him.

"Well?" He asked.

"We're going home."

**LWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWD LWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWD**

"Lizzie?" Edwin asked as Marti skipped out of the living room to go and get some 'purple goo' to 'eat'.

"Yeah?" Lizzie asked, glancing at him and then back to the TV show.

"Where's the binder?"

Lizzie's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped as she stared at the television screen. It was obvious that what had just happened on 'Spongebob' was not what was making her gape like that.

"I thought you had it!" She said, turning and staring at her step-brother.

"Funny," He laughed, his tone obviously making it certain that he didn't think it was funny at all, "I thought the same thing."

"Edwin!" She screamed, standing up, "We have to find that binder before Casey and Derek see it!"

They hurried up the stairs, tripping over a couple in the process, and into Casey's room. It was untouched, like they had left it, but the binder was not there.

"I could have sworn I left it on the bed. Right _there_!" Lizzie pointed to the empty space on her step-sister's bed.

"Well it's not there, is it?" Edwin asked, and Lizzie shook her head. She then fell to the floor, on her hands and knees, and looked under Casey's bed.

"It's not here either!"

"It's not anywhere." Edwin said, standing up and letting his hands fly up into the air and drop in defeat.

"They found it. We're dead." Lizzie said, and Edwin shook his head as he hurried into Derek's room.

"Whoa!" He said as he opened the door and stared at the horrible mess that was Derek's room, "This is even worse then it normally is!"

The covers were completely curled up together in a ball on his bed, his dresser drawers were open, and clothes were everywhere. There was a sock hanging over his computer screen, and a pair of green boxer shorts hanging over the lamp in the corner of the room.

And there, sitting, for plain eyes to see, in the middle of his bed, was an open binder.

And it was open to 'Dasey'.

With wide eyes and shaky hands, he grabbed the binder off of the bed and turned to Lizzie, who had the same, shocked, scared expression painted on her face.

"We're dead, aren't we?" Lizzie asked, trying to keep the shaking out of her voice as she spoke.

Edwin nodded as he stared back down at the binder.

"Oh god, I wanted to _live_ to see my 16th birthday!" Edwin moaned, sighing in defeat as he leaned back against the wall, banging his head once.

**LWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWDLWD**

"Derek?" Casey asked, and he turned and looked at her. He was still sleepy, and he looked as if he was going to pass out. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He lied. He didn't want to talk to Casey.

"Look. I'm sorry I had a nightmare last night."

"It's not that that's bugging me."

"Then what's bugging you?" She asked, placing a hand on his arm. He slapped it away. Casey looked hurt as she retracted her hand as if he was a cat who had just bit her.

"Sorry." He mumbled, taking the hand he slapped in his and stroking the back of it with her thumb. She stared in shock at their hands, but Derek didn't even look at her, he just stared out the window, "Casey…it's been poking at me since the day I met you. You've been a thorn in my side, always bugging me…but you've also…you've always touched me someplace else. You've touched my heart, Casey." He turned and stared at her, "I love you." He shrugged.


End file.
